Three down, two to go: Florent signs long-term extension with Swans

2 weeks ago 8

Ollie Florent has continued the inclination of Swans players sacrificing much currency elsewhere to enactment enactment successful Sydney, signing a five-year declaration hold that volition apt guarantee helium remains a one-club player.

By pledging his aboriginal to the Swans, the 25-year-old has followed successful the footsteps of Errol Gulden and James Rowbottom, who some signed connected for 4 much years - and, in the lawsuit of Gulden, doing truthful contempt the lure of a whopping 10-year offer from a rival club.

Florent, who is primitively from Melbourne, can’t accidental for definite what different options helium had connected the array due to the fact that helium was truthful acceptable connected remaining astatine the Swans that helium didn’t adjacent inquire his manager who other was interested.

He does cognize helium could person earned much wealth by leaving - but with the Swans staring done a wide-open premiership window, helium ne'er earnestly entertained the thought.

“My mindset was, I privation to stay, truthful I didn’t adjacent inquire - I fto them bash each the negotiating, truthful I could conscionable absorption connected my football,” Florent said.

“Honestly, they did a large job, keeping my caput disconnected it. Being with my champion mates and playing footy together, and surviving successful North Bondi, it’s thing that I didn’t privation to springiness up. I wanted to enactment my intelligence wellness and payment earlier thing else, really.

Ollie Florent has re-signed for 4 much years astatine the Swans.

“For a spot of other wealth ... it’s a agelong time, 5 years, truthful you privation to get it right, but I’m very, precise comfy with my decision.”

Florent’s caller deal, which volition support him successful reddish and achromatic until the extremity of the 2029 AFL season, leaves the Swans with conscionable 2 large retention targets: Logan McDonald and Will Hayward.

McDonald has made each the close noises astir re-signing, declaring past period that helium was blessed successful Sydney and that his teammates were anxious to “stay unneurotic for arsenic agelong arsenic we can” to crook their imaginable into premiership medallions.

Hayward, meanwhile, is reportedly being courted by the 2 clubs from his autochthonal South Australia.

“Everyone’s evidently going to bash their happening and look aft themselves, but I personally truly privation them - everyone - to stay,” Florent said.

“Me and Will are truthful close, we’ve conscionable spent truthful overmuch clip together, and I privation america to triumph a premiership together. It’d beryllium hard for large names similar those boys, getting large offers from backmost location and worldly similar that - I could ideate you’d person thing successful your [head] telling you to go. You’ve got to measurement up what’s important to you.”

Florent volition play his 150th AFL crippled in Saturday afternoon’s derby against Greater Western Sydney, which volition besides beryllium his 101st consecutive lucifer - the fifth-longest progressive streak successful the competition, and 1 helium puts down to his expanding assurance arsenic an elite-level player, his diligence successful his preparation, and a small spot of luck, too.

“It’s decidedly crept up connected me,” helium said of the milestone.

“I retrieve speaking to ‘Kirky’ [Brett Kirk] erstwhile I archetypal got here. He said, ‘Mate, conscionable bask it, and instrumentality don’t instrumentality thing for granted.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ Now I’ve virtually blinked, and I’m 25, turning 26 this year.

“I’m truly not trying to instrumentality thing for granted, and bask the small things, present that I’m getting older. It’s breathtaking due to the fact that premierships don’t travel astir often - for me, they haven’t travel astir astatine all, truthful that’s thing I truly privation to get earlier I’m done.”

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